Do all flashes need HSS if I use an HSS strobe with fill or hair lights?

Asked 2/17/2017

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I’m considering a Godox AD600 as my main light and want to add less expensive fill and hair lights. If I shoot above my camera’s normal flash sync speed using HSS, do the additional flashes also need to support HSS, or can I mix an HSS main light with non-HSS strobes?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

9y ago

2 Answers

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Yes and no. You could use a white or silver reflector and you do not need an additional flash. But if you want to keep making HSS photos (normally that is for outdoor photography) yes, you need the other flashes to be HSS.

Remember that you can use a Neutral density filter too to lower your shutter speed to your sync speed if you have other flashes that are not HSS.

Originally by user37321. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user37321

9y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

If you’re shooting above normal flash sync speed, then in most cases yes: any flash contributing to the exposure needs to support HSS. A non-HSS strobe fired at high shutter speeds will usually be partially blocked by the shutter, which can cause banding or only a strip of light in the frame.

So:

  • HSS main light + non-HSS fill/hair light at high shutter speed: usually problematic.
  • HSS main light + reflector: fine, since a reflector isn’t a flash.
  • HSS main light + constant light: can work, since continuous light isn’t limited by flash sync the same way.

If you want to use non-HSS strobes together with your main light, a common workaround is to stay at or below your camera’s normal sync speed. You can also use a neutral density filter to reduce ambient light so you don’t need the faster shutter speed.

In short: for a fully flash-based setup above sync speed, plan on all participating flashes being HSS-capable.

UniqueBot

AI

9y ago

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